Drs. Stephen Norwood and Gerry Hagin came to the clinic and worked for 2 weeks. Stephen is an orthopedic surgeon and Gerry an internist. In addition to the many patients they saw, Stephen was motivated when he arrived home to find us an OR table that is perfect for our minor surgery room. Not only did he find it but he managed its transport from Texas to us in Haiti, and found donors to fund the transport. What a blessing it has been to save our providers from backaches from the long hours doing procedures in that room.

More Volunteers Join in the Medical and Construction Work

Kelly Manning visited us as a premed student hoping to have a career in missions in her future. First Baptist Church of Cherokee sent us a team of construction workers, nurses, and a pharmacist and pharmacy tech. They finished up the soffets around the clinic building giving it that finished look also essential to keeping the animals and bugs out. The nurses were on hand to help with the clinic’s operation and the pharmacist and tech were a big help in the pharmacy. The Wilkins’s son Ben headed up the team and led the construction workers as they did their work.

The clinic closed for 2 weeks of vacation at the end of July. When we started back up in August we were pleased to have Shannon Knapp and her friend who worked as nurse practitioners in the clinic allowing us to increase our numbers blessing the Haitians who come hoping to get a chance to consult. Reuben Nichols, a diesel mechanic, who usually comes to help build cabinets was able to use his area of expertise to maintain and fix some problems with vehicles. He returned in September with parts and fixed some minor issues in our vehicles and set up a vehicle maintenance schedule for our new building and grounds man, Ed Gilsbach who would come full time in September.

Brittany McHargue arrived as a premed student to spend 3 months on the compound. At the same time God sent us Matasha Pecht an emergency room RN to volunteer for 6 months. Our nurse Emily Hughes who has been with us for an entire year is leaving and they arrived just before she left to get some inservice training from her. They both learned the basics and began language training for their time in Haiti. We have become accustomed to having a nurse on duty full time to help with procedures and the day to day running of the clinic and so we were blessed that God sent us replacements for Emily. We will miss Emily tremendously as she moves on to the next stage of her life – which includes an upcoming wedding.

Haiti Air Ambulance

In September Sandy began communicating with an emergency air ambulance in Port au Prince and learned that they are indeed functional in Haiti! After meeting the Haiti Air Ambulance team and having them land at a soccer field in a nearby orphanage, a partnership was formed. As a result of information given by Jordan Owen of HAA, HHM learned of the Haitian land ambulance CAN that is operational.

New Cabinets

When Reuben returned in September, David Elliott joined him along with friends from their church, Dennis and Ricky to finish up the cabinetry in the clinic, pharmacy and Jim and Sandy’s new house. It was wonderful to have it all finished up.

Tire Gardens

Sally Todd and her husband Robert traveled to ECHO development in Florida to learn more about gardening to try to find a way to help her malnourished patients develop gardens to help feed their families. Robert will be starting a tire garden ministry as a result and Velvet Ashes formed a fund raiser to help Sally’s egg distribution program as well as Robert’s tire gardens to be funded in 2015.

Gal 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”